Peg-fastened button



Jan. 16, 1951 A. E. SUTlN 2,538,396

PEG-FASTENED BUTTON Filed Sept 15, 1947 Inventor Attomg Patented Jan.16, 1951 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PEG-FASTENED BUTTON Albert ElliotSutin, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application September 15, 1947, SerialNo. 773,953

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to new and use ful improvements in buttonsof the peg-fastened variety which are capable of attachment to fabricswithout being sewn thereto.

The button particularly contemplated by the invention is largelypatterned after those buttons of the prior'art which were adapted to besewn to one edge of a fabric opening and to co-operate with a buttonhole in the other edge thereof for closing or fastening the saidopening. However, unlike the thread-sewn button, the instant device maycarry but a single opening in the form of a socket wherein a knob at theend of a peg is non-escapably capturable; the knob piercing the fabricfrom one side and engaging the button on the other side thereof and thepeg having retaining means to prevent it from passing wholly through thefabric. Pegs of this type are not entirely new; various forms thereofhaving been extensively used in association with other separable typesof buttons, such as cuif studs, collar studs, emblem buttons and others,which were designed for temporary instead of permanent attachment.

Manifestly, in order to receive and retain the knob, the entrance to thebutton socket should not only be smaller than the knob but also capableof dilating to permit its entry and of thereafter contracting to preventits withdrawal.

In the separable button art above described, it was neither intended norpossible to retain the knob against even a moderate pull; theknobretaining element being too flexible for this purpose. In the art ofpermanently attachable buttons, on the other hand, many have heretoforerequired machining after the molding thereof, or required to be attachedby mechanical means, or Were completed or formed in more than oneoperation or of a plurality of parts which raised the cost thereof andmade their use economically impracticable.

The present invention seeks to overcome the foregoing and otherobjections to the prior art by providing a button of integral orone-piece construction and with limited resiliency which is, in part, afeature of the substance of which it is formed and, in part, a productof the configuration thereof.

It is also an important object cflth e invention to provide a buttonhead of a material which not only has appropriate mechanicalpropertiesbut is also ornamental and attractive in appearance.

The invention further visualizes, as another of its objectives, a buttonhead of the character described of such configuration that is may becompletely formed in one operation.

The foregoing and other unstated objects of the invention are realizedin the manner and by the means disclosed by the following description ofthe elements, parts, and principles, which constitute the invention, apreferred embodiment whereof is illustrated, by way of example only, inthe annexed drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is an elevational view, in exploded form, of the pe and button ofthe present invention,

Fig. 2 a top plan view of the button alone,

Fig. 3 a longitudinal section through a mounted button, and

Fig. 4 an elevational view of the double ended peg modification of theinvention.

Throughout the enumerated views like reference numerals refer to likeparts of the invention.

The peg or stud I which appears in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing andwhich need not necessarily be made of plastics, consists of a retainingwafer 2 and a shaft 4 rising perpendicularly therefrom and terminatingin a conical, sharpened, knob 5 whose major diameter exceeds that of itssupport.

The materials particularly and preferably, although not restrictively,contemplated for the button of the present invention are found in thatgroup of synthetic resinous compounds now generally known as plastics.Besides being available in a wide variety of colours, these substancescan be formed with various intrinsic tensile or other propertiesaccording to the functions they are required to serve. Furthermore theyare, for the most part, easily moldable and machinable.

The button 6 comprises a thin resilient button face I backed by a neck 8of resilient material arranged centrally and perpendicularly thereof inwhich there is a bore or socket 9 terminating somewhat remotely from theend ID of the neck 8 which carries, in turn, a smaller aperture II inco-axial communication with the socket 9. As shown by Fig. 3 of thedrawing, the socket 9 opens on the surface of the button face I. Therebythe button 6 is enabled to be cast or molded as an integral or one-pieceunit.

It should be observed that the calibre of the socket 9 correspondsgenerally to the diameter of the base 12, the widest portion, of theknob 5, whereas the calibre of the aperture II is related to and may beslightly less than the diameter of the shaft 4. The effect of this dualcalibre boring is to leave a knob retaining ring or shoulder l3 ofadequate thickness at the end ID of the neck 8.

To facilitate the passage of the knob 5 through the aperture I I, Iprovide two or more slits i l-I4,

\ assaaoe in the end In of the neck 8 whose depth slightly exceeds thethickness of the shoulder l3, and which divide the said end l into apair of jaws Illa-lob. The button 6 being formed of a resilient materialas aforesaid, these jaws l0al0b are capable of spreading under pressureand contracting with the release thereof in the manner to besubsequently described. Hence, when the knob i forcibly intrudedtherebetween, the said jaws Illa-b will spread until a completepenetration has been effected and will thereafter contract about theshaft 4.

In its present embodiment, the invention visualizes a. non-separablebutton and peg combination B and to this end the base l2 of the knob 5is at right angles to the shaft 4, while the interior face of theshoulder l3 also forms a right angle with the wall of the socket 9.Under these conditions, once the knob 5 has completely traversed theaperture H, and lodged in the socket 9, its convenient withdrawaltherethrough will be effectively prevented by the rectangularity of theabutting surfaces. To enhance the durability as well as the eiliciencyof the present invention, it is of obvious importance that play of thepeg I in the button 6 be kept to a minimum. In part, this can beachieved by a snug fit of the knob 5 in the socket 9. In additionthereto, adequate bearing surface for the shaft 4 in the end In is ofthe highest necessity. This is obtained by suitably limiting the depthto which the socket 9 penetrates the neck 8 and so regulating thethickness of the said shoulder l3.

If this article be manufactured of a plastic material as previouslyrecommended herein, the resulting product will require only to becleared of the usual sprue extensions in order to be ready for immediateuse, and will present, a smooth, polished, and highly finished aspect.Moreover, by means of a judicious selection, with respect to resiliencyand other tensile properties, of the plastic used in the manufacture ofthe button 6, an efllcient as well as durable and attractively coloureddevice can be economically produced.

With further reference to the expandability of the jaw Illa-Nib, thisproperty thereof is not entirely due to their own intrinsic resiliency,they being small and purposely thickened to preclude fracture understress. Instead, their expandability is made possible by their integralassociation with the much more resilient button face 1. Thus, when thejaws llla|0b are forced apart, the pressure thereon iscommunicatedthrough the button neck 8 to the button face 1 which arches in'responseto that pressure, coincidentally collapsing the root of the neck 8(where it joins the button face 'I) this deformation of the button 6permitting the spreading of the jaws Illa-lb.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the resiliency of the buttonface 1, which is a comparatively large and thin member, and theresistance ofthe neck 8 to collapse, combine with whatever resiliencethe jaws Illa-lob may possess, to offer strong opposition to anyexpansive pressure. This opposition is, of course, insuflicient toprevent the entry of the tapered knob or head 5 into the socket 9, butis more than adequate to prevent its withdrawal therefrom, which wouldnot be the case if the jaws Hlal0b were expandable independently of therest of the button 6.

Inasmuch as the drawing has beenprepared with a view to a cleardescription of the principles involved in the present invention, manyminor variations between it and the manufactured article will occur.'Similarly, many obvious modifications of the present invention havebeen \omitted from the foregoing description for the sake of clarity andbrevity. It should therefore be understood that the present embodimentis not the only form in which the pertinent inventive ideas can beexpressed; the full scope thereof being defined by the claims whichfollow herewith.

What I claim'as my invention is:

1. A non-withdrawable button assembly comprising, a stud member having ashank terminating in an enlarged conical head, the juncture between saidhead and shank forming an annular shoulder perpendicular to the axis ofthe shank, a unitary button member formed of plastic material of limitedresiliency and having a discshaped body portion and a concentricprojecting cylindrical neck portion integrally formed therewith, a boreextending through said neck and body portions of sufficient diameter tosnugly accommodate said enlarged head, a constricted entrance to thebore at the top of said neck portion having a cylindrical bearingsurface of substantial width dimensioned to form a tight fit about saidstud shank to frictionally retain the stud against material movementrelative to said body portion, an annular locking shoulder at thejuncture of said bore and entrance extending at right angles to the axisof the bore to form a congruently lapping seat for the locking shoulderon said stud when said stud head is within the button neck, the free endof said neck being slit vertically dividing said locking shoulder andconstricted entrance into a pair of opposed jaws for locking engagementwith said shank and shoulder, said neck and jaws being of substantialthickness and reduced diameter relative to said body bodilysubstantially without deformation sufiiciently to admit said conicalhead.

2. A non-withdrawable button assembly comprising a stud member having ashank terminating in an enlarged conical head, the juncture between saidhead and shank forming an annular shoulder perpendicular to the axis ofthe shank, a unitary button member formed of plastic material of limitedresiliency and having a disc-shaped body portion and a concentricprojecting cylindrical neck portion integrally formed therewith, a boreextending through said neck and body portions of sufiicient diameter tosnugly accommodate said enlarged head, a constricted entrance to thebore at the top of said neck portion having a cylindrical bearingsurface of substantial width dimensioned to form a tight fit about saidstud shank to frictionally retain the stud against material movementrelative to said body portion, an annular locking shoulder at thejuncture of said bore and entrance extending at right angles to the axisof the bore to form a congruently lapping seat for the locking shoulderon said stud when said stud head is within the button neck, a verticalslit extending through said constricted entrance and locking shoulder todivide the same into a pair of opposed jaws and reduced diameterrelative to said body portion to render them materially resistant todeformation, and said disc-shaped body portion being relativelydeformable, whereby a spreading force applied between said jaws at thefree end of said 5 neck is communicated through said neck to arch saidbody portion relative to an axis lying in said vertical transverse planeand separate said jaws bodily substantially without deformationsuiliciently to admit said conical head.

ALBERT ELLIOT SUTIN.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA TENTS Number Name Date 303,731 Heller Aug. 19, 1884401,908 Schlechter Apr. 23, 1889 488,219 Platt Dec. 20, 1892 I01,183,422 Anderson May 16, 1916 1,305,277 Sloane et a1. Dec. 15, 1942

